Work expected to start on new Broadmarsh shopping centre within weeks

Intu released this new computer generated image of how the new centre will look from the direction of Middle Hill.

Work on the long-awaited new Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham is expected to start within weeks after its owners announced the contractor for the development has been appointed.

The centre is being remodelled inside and out as part of an £86 million scheme which is designed to attract major high street retailers. A cinema and bowling alley is also being added and a glass and metal frontage will cover the existing structure.

Owners intu announced on Friday contractors Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed to complete the project and work will begin soon.

Collin Street is also being pedestrianised as part of the scheme and some preparatory work has already been completed.

Martin Breeden, development director at intu, said in a statement: “We are looking forward to this next stage in developing the centre into a great place to eat, relax and play from day time through to evening. The redeveloped intu Broadmarsh will draw people in from further afield and complement the existing retail offer in Nottingham.

“The Light [cinema] and Hollywood Bowl are both committed to the centre and there is significant interest from a number of retailers and restaurants in taking space at the centre. We are creating the most exciting development in the city’s southern area for more than five decades and we continue to work with Nottingham City Council on their plans for the wider Broadmarsh area, which is a fabulous regeneration programme.”

Although the car park and shopping developments are co-ordinated, the car park development is owned by the city council and the centre project is owned by intu.

However, the council owns a third of the centre, and will pay a third of the cost of its development. The rest is owned by, and will be paid for, by intu.

Councillor Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council, said the entire project will ‘transform’ a key part of the city centre and the investment will be “of real significance for the economy locally”.

Artist impression of the new Broadmarsh car park, being built next door by the city council.

Asked about the the delay, Cllr Collins told Notts TV: “Intu needed to be confident there were the market conditions to go ahead, they needed to get pre-lets, which they’ve been able to do, and they are confident that they will be able to make a success of the centre.

“Of course that’s what we want as well, because as we own a third of the centre we take a third of the income and we want to make sure that if we’re investing in the centre that income will increase and we’ll be able to use that to support the borrowing for the project.”

He added: “Broadmarsh is not just going to be about retail, retail will be a part of it, but there’s going to be a cinema here, a bowling alley, restaurants, it’s very much that mix between retail and leisure and I think that’s the way forward for city centres.

“I’m very pleased we finally managed to get to the point where work is about to start, it has been a very long time and if you look back over the times when people have been talking about rebuilding this shopping centre, it’s probably 15 to 20 years, to get a commitment from intu and that joint partnership working with the city that will make it happen.”

Benoy are the architects for the build. The firm has offices around the globe having been founded in Nottinghamshire in Newark.

Mike Wilson-MacCormack, director and head of Newark studio for the company said: “intu Broadmarsh is a truly local project and one which many are familiar with. Not only will the scheme emphasise its status as the gateway from the south side of the city, it will also provide a reinvigorated retail environment and incorporate new leisure uses to boost the economy.

“This will help reinvent intu Broadmarsh as an exciting mixed-use destination that will form part of a wider regeneration of the area.”